Tuesday Bolts – 9.15.09

Etan Thomas discussing the NBA age limit with Dave Zirin: “My position on the NBA’s age limit has always been that I am against it. My mother and I actually have debated this issue many times as well. Her being a teacher, she feels very strongly that there should be an age limit and the fact that so many young people are not taking advantage of an education is not only catastrophic but a sad day. My mother’s position is that our people had to fight so long for the right to be educated and now young people are not valuing that struggle and are essentially throwing their education to chase a dream that has been dangled in front of their faces like the horse with the carrot. I can’t disagree with her point and we go back and forth on this topic. Now, I stayed in school for four years. Had a wonderful experience at Syracuse University. Got my degree in business management, met my wife, grew as a person and it prepared me for life. But that’s my case. Is it fair to force someone who wants to take a different path to attend college?”

Chris Silva with James Harden: “As for turning 20 years old on Aug. 26, Harden said it was light on celebration. “Nothing at all,” he said. “It’s business time. I want to get a head start on the season, so I’m out here just preparing.” Harden has been in business mode ever since the Thunder made him a lottery pick on June 25. He made a name for himself at the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues, where he showcased his potential and athleticism with averages of 14.7 points, 50.6 percent shooting and 3.3 rebounds in nine games.”

Great piece from Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns on social media and the NBA: “For years, fans could only view their NBA heroes through the lenses of the media and a PR-savvy league. Players were towering, athletic fish in a fish bowl, only to be gawked at on the court before leaving the confines of the arena to lead their own private, mysterious lives. Fast forward to this offseason, and anybody with an Internet connection knows who Jared Dudley worked out with this summer, what disguise Steve Nash wore when playing pickup ball in China and even that Amare Stoudemire was going in for more eye surgery in July – before the team made an official announcement or a beat reporter broke the news.”

I missed it yesterday but Susan Bible of HoopsWorld has a Thunder season preview out: “The Thunder still lacks a threatening presence in the middle. Center Krstic has considerable skills, but intimidation isn’t one of them. The team ranked 20th in defensive rating and 22nd in shot-blocking – Thomas may improve the latter. Other concerns: they ranked 1st in turnovers, 26th in field goal percentage, 29th in offensive rating and 30th in three-point attempts/made. This is why they drafted Harden.”

Bill Ingram with additional thoughts: “Again, with the Thunder it’s not going to be about big, sexy moves that grab headlines, but incremental improvements that play out over the course of a season or two. As we’ve seen Kevin Durant emerge as an All-Star talent, so his team will emerge as a playoff team in the very near future. It probably won’t be this season, but in two years . . .the Thunder should be ready to rattle the rafters of the NBA.”

FanHouse looks at three teams cheaper than the Grizzlies: “Oklahoma City Thunder. Barring a major trade or an offer sheet to someone like David Lee, OKC will enter the season with the cheapest payroll in the land. (That’s probably good, considering the financial trouble lead owner Clay Bennett has had over the past year.) According to ShamSports (the most trustworthy contract repository on the web), the Thunder have $50.7 million in payroll locked up this season. No Thunder player will be paid more than Etan Thomas’s $7.9 million. The projected starting five — Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic — will earn a combined $21 million. (By comparison, Boston’s starting five will make $61.7 million next season.)”

Aubry had the worst year, no? The strength of our organization is that we have one vocal guy (Bennett) and many minority owners that comprise a financially stable environment. Did this writer forget that OKC has been lauded as a recession proof city?

Speaking about the rafters of the NBA... I hope that we get this C2S thing squared away and start work on that park, cuz starting next season we are gonna be nipping at the the heels of champions and are gonna need a place to celebrate our shiny, golden O'Brien!

And that won't be a possibility then, if we aren't thrifty now, so those calling us "cheap" need to recognize the "quality" that we are producing. BTW, (in reference to starting 5), how did the Yankees 200MM payroll fare against the Rays last season whose payroll was less than a quarter of that? Shoot, just the left side of their infield made as much!

Someone tell me a single NBA owner that hasn't taken a hit financially in the past year? I'm guessing Paul Allen, Jerry Buss and Dan Gilbert don't keep their money stuff in mattresses. Nobody seems to consider that the Thunder made money, and the owners made substantially more from basketball revenues than they did in the two seasons prior to coming to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder's offseason moves - or lack of, depending on your perspective - had nothing to do with the owner's personal finances. The plain and simple truth is that there weren't many players available who fit the Thunder's needs. They've (hopefully) addressed the need for a perimeter shooter, and they've improved their bench substantially. To knock an organization for doing those things in a fiscally responsible way is ludicrous.

Thanks. Granted my blog doesn't really compare to this one, or the other Truehoop blogs. I started it after the season was over, and the posts since June have been sporadic (something I attribute to the lack of NBA news and school starting). Hopefully, as we get closer to the season, I will be able to spend more time on it.

I actually just previewed the Thunder on my blog. It's not real in-depth (none of the team previews are that detailed, basically been making posts to pass the time), but it does have a good analogy comparing the Thunder to a s'mores sandwich.

As for the age limit, I've got to agree with Etan Thomas, though my reasons for being against it are probably different than pretty much everyone else.